Something to Leave the Children
Scriptures: Matthew 7:7-12, Ephesians 1:7, 13-14, 17-18
It was not easy to do it, but not long ago I made some decisions about what I would leave the children at my death. There are some items in our household that the children should have as sentimental objects. They will not receive money or property. 1 Timothy 5:8 says, “If any man provides not for his own, he is worse than an infidel.” I have provided for them. They are wealthy in impossible ways. They are “well-fixed”.
Illus: A friend in Muskogee was told he had one year to live because of cancer. He sold his business and gave his son and daughter the proceeds. The money he gave his kids is gone. He was able to see in his lifetime what sons and daughters at times do with inheritance: they squander it. Prodigals are still with us. It is my conviction that there are things to leave the children that are vastly more important than money or land.
Everyone should have a will or last testament. In this agreement, we can tell how we want our estate (whether vast or meager) distributed. It is a statement of your pleasure and joy. We need a spiritual will, in which we promise our children what they can expect from us. We owe our children a good inheritance. What would create a good legacy for them?
“We owe our children a good inheritance. What would create a good legacy for them?”
Leave the children the blessings of Abraham.
Land can be left to children. All of Israel belongs to believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. Palestinians do not own the land; they occupy it. Zionists do not own it; it is ours. Jehovah promised the land as an inheritance to Abraham and his descendants. We have a title to Canaan “forever” (Genesis 13:15; 12:7, 15:18-21). Enjoyment of it and possession was conditioned by faithfulness to God (Deut. 4:26, 11:9-8). Just as Israel lost possession because of their rejection of the Lord Jesus, so not everyone will inherit this land. Psalms 58:3 says, “even from birth, the wicked go astray. My children will not have the blessings of Abraham unless they are faithful to God.
“I am my beloveds and he is mine.” God has chosen you to receive the blessings of Abraham.
Leave the children citizenship in the kingdom of God.
Romans 8:17 says, “those in Christ are joint-heirs with Christ of the inheritance.” Citizenship in this kingdom is a great privilege. Matthew 25:34 says, “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.’” They are possessors of the kingdom at this time, though full possession comes when Jesus returns for us. Lead your children to Christ.
Illus: I saw Jesus in my father, who took every beggar to the kitchen and cooked him a meal and gave him a shirt.
“Charity does not bring salvation, but salvation certainly does bring charity.”
Matthew 25:35 & 40, “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in. I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me…you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”
Charity does not bring salvation, but salvation certainly does bring charity. In Matthew, the text reads about bread, fish, and Luke 11:12 adds egg. Bread is a type of holy food that brings everlasting life. Fish is the symbol of our believing in Christ, and the egg is used in Passover seder to illustrate new life. Children should desire good gifts, but they often want physical comfort. They see how many nice things we have, and newlyweds want all that we have and more in the first month of marriage.
Our children need spiritual truth and less physical comfort. They need a caring Dad who knows the difference in the temporary and the permanent things of life.
ILLUS: A teenage girl told me about how generous her Father was, but he never took her to church. She needed a priest in the home.
ILLUS: Ray Campt in New York Times received a letter from a boy: “Would you tell me where I could find a place to fish that is not more than five or six miles from my home? I am 14 years old and have saved up enough money for a rod and a reel and line, but don’t know where to go fishing. My father goes almost every weekend, but he fishes with older men but they don’t want a boy to go along, so I have to find some place I can reach on my bicycle.” Letter sent dad.
Leave the children integrity and character. The only thing we take with us when we die is our character. Who knows a man who is true to this word? A man who does what he says. I want my children to be given:
The ability to walk in holiness in this corrupt world. No sin, no devil, but that’s not the way it is. The darker it is around you the greater is your light. Where sin abounds, grace does much more abound. I want my children to be pure. I can help them to be pure as I lead them to Christ and walk them through the discipleship they need.
The ability to adjust to riches or poverty. To live modestly and not complain about it. Philippians 4:11 says, “I have learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” Let them learn “seek ye first the kingdom of God and these things shall be added to you.” They need to experience God’s response to their needs. When they are blessed by God and their minds are not in poverty, they can be generous and remain humble even though applause may come. They should inherit the scene of a Father who could be trusted and who honored commitments and obligations.
Leave the children the splendor of heaven. Whatever we leave them materially can never compare with what awaits them if they are faithful to God. 1 Peter 1:4 says, “to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you...ready to be revealed in the last time.” When is the “last time”? This is the end time and it is time for it to be revealed. Jesus had to die so we could receive the promise of eternal inheritance. (Hebrews 9:15). The Holy Spirit is the guarantee of our inheritance—there is no fine print on this guarantee.
What is rich? It’s different to different people. The love of money is the root cause of evil. We are warned, “do not lay up for yourself treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy them, and where thieves dig through to steal, lay up yourselves treasures in heaven… for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
Illus: The Roman centurions broke into a Christian church to loot the treasure they imagined they would find there. They demanded Laurentius show them the treasures. The man of God pointed to the widows and orphans being fed, the sick receiving medicine and the poor being given clothing. “These,” he said, “are the treasures of the church.”
“When the church hoards wealth, God cannot move among them. ”
When the church hoards wealth, then God cannot move among them.
Illus: A visitor was being shown the treasures of Rome. The priest remarked, “The church can no longer say silver and gold have I none.”
The visitor remarked, “It also cannot say, take up thy mat and walk.”
This church invests wisely in people ministry. It wasn’t always so. I remember the time we discussed assisting a lady whose husband was dying. She couldn’t work. The treasurer at the church said, “We cannot afford to provide her salary.” No brother said, “We cannot afford to tell her no.”
